This Saturday Schenectady Youth Boxing (SYB) will present an amateur show at Schenectady High School. Boxing clubs from throughout the region will compete, and some from as far away as Buffalo and Connecticut.

"Boxing for Peace: Do it in the Ring," is a fundraiser for Peaceful Warriors, a partnership between the High School and SYB. Youth get to learn better ways to deal with problems than those presented by the gang member on the corner.

Peaceful Warriors. I don't know who came up with the title, but it's perfect. Like any oxymoron, it invites us into deeper truths. Conventional wisdom warns that teaching at-risk youth to box is like handing an arsonist a book of matches. Why not teach them yoga, or meditation, or Monopoly - anything but boxing.

Nonsense, say Program Directors Rafael Medina, the School's psychologist and Nate Wylie, a social worker. They jointly oversee the Program on the School's end, although it has no formal affiliation with the District. "There's no denying that it works," said Medina. "We consistently see improvement in attendance, academic achievement and anger management." Peaceful Warriors began in 2009 and has touched 35 young lives so far with its creative blend of boxing training, group sessions and tutoring. Participants aren't required to compete in bouts, but many find themselves doing just that.

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Medina and Wylie know that boxing training alone teaches discipline, focus, patience, commitment, respect, and the value of being associated with something larger than one's self. Juvenile justice professionals know that these are the very things that promote non-violent attitudes and behaviors. So the naysayers are not only wrong, they have it backward.

As the late Angelo Dundee once said, "When is the last time you were in a gym and a fight broke out?" Amateur boxers eat healthy foods, go to bed early, and don't do drugs. They're too busy.

The Program's best advertisements are the kids themselves: "It taught me discipline," said 17-year old Irwin Premchan. "I had an attendance problem, but it helped me grow up." Irwin will be happy to tell you more on Saturday, after he takes care of some business. He's boxing in the 119-pound division. Irwin looks forward to attending Siena College next year.

And there's Ben Wright, a 20-year-old Program graduate and now assistant coach. Ben is a respectful young man, a true Peaceful Warrior. His mom, Carolyn, tells this story of his personal turning point: "Some time ago, a boy hit him the face with a basketball on purpose. Ben just walked away." In order to appreciate the significance of this, you need to know that by then Ben had become a seriously good amateur boxer. I've seen him work up close, having refereed one of his 12 bouts. Had he chosen to fight, Mr. Basketball Bully might have awakened in a different area code. "But Coach said only fight when you have to," he told mom, referring to SYB Head Vince Kittle.

Irwin explains it this way: "Because you know how to fight, you no longer have to. Your strength is inside where it counts." To a Peaceful Warrior, boxing lessons are life lessons.

No one knows this better than Albany's Trevor Bryan, now an undefeated professional heavyweight, and arguably one of the nicest guys on the planet. "Trevor was actually an inspiration for the Program," said SYB Board Chair, Jeff Christiana. "He had some issues early on. He got involved with us as a kid and the next thing you know, he's a young man everyone respects. He became one of our coaches. Now look at him."

"Boxing teaches you not to be half committed to anything," said Bryan. "It focuses you. The point of Peaceful Warriors isn't to produce boxers, but successful adults."

"Boxing is just about the hardest thing there is," added Irwin. "If you can deal with the training, the weight control and everything else, school and good behavior are easy."

"It gave me inner strength," said Bryan.

But enough talk, come see for yourself what Peace Warriors look like. The bouts start at 5:00 p.m. at the School (The Plaza), Schenectady, NY 12308 ($10 in advance, $15 at the door, $5 student I.D.) For more information, call SYB at 377-1811.